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User blog:SPARTAN 119/Game of Thrones Season Six Special: Tywin Lannister (Game of Thrones) vs Tallard Graham (The Lord Marksman and the Vanadis)
Tywin Lannister, the lord of Casterly Rock and de-facto ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, who uses manipulation and his vast wealth to plot the downfall of his foes. VS Tallard Graham, the cunning military genius turned king of Asvarre, feared even by a superhuman Vanadis of Zchted... in spite of having no magic powers himself... WHO IS DEADLIEST?! Tywin Lannister Tywin Lannister is a major character in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire novels, as well as the TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. Tywin was the son and heir to Tytos Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Lord Paramount of the Westerlands. During his father's reign, the wealthy House Lannister, owner of many gold mines, fell into decline after a series of poor investments. This drove a Lannister vassal, House Reyne of Castamere, to rebel against the Lannisters. Tywin personally planned out the assassination of the Reynes, and had every member of the family, including women and children slaughtered. Tywin later succeeded his father after his death, and married his cousin, Joanna Lannister. Tywin had three children, Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion. Joanna died during Tyrion's birth, and because of this, along with the fact they Tyrion was born a dwarf, Tywin had hated Tyrion ever since. Tywin served as Hand of the King to "The Mad King" Aerys Targaryen II. During his time as hand, Tywin tried to marry off Cersei to Aerys' son, prince Rhaegar. Aerys, however, refused, and, to add insult to injury, inducted Jaime into the Kingsguard, who were intended to take a vow of celibacy and leaving Tywin without a male heir to carry on his line (having already denied Tyrion such a privilege). This cause Tywin to resign in protest, however, he did not join the rebellion of Robert Baratheon until they won the Battle of the River Trident, at which point it was clear that the rebels would win, and Tywin marched on King's Landing. On the orders of Aerys, who mistakenly believed Tywin was still his ally, the city gates were left open and Tywin's army sacked the city, and two his knights, Amory Lorch and Gregor Clegane brutally slaugthered most of the royal family. When Aerys heard of this, he ordered his pyromancers, the order trusted with making the highly flammable substance known as Wildfire, to burn down the city, and ordered Jaime Lannister to bring him his father's head. Instead, Jaime stabbed Aerys to death and surrendered the throne to the rebels. After the successful rebellion, Tywin married off Cersei to King Robert, and they had three children, Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella. Unbeknownst to Robert, none of these children were actually his, but rather a product of Cersei's incestuous affair with her brother, Jaime. When hand of the King Jon Arryn first suspected this, he was poisoned, presumably by Jaime or Cersei. While he visited the Northern capital of Winterfell, seat of house Stark, Jaime and Cersei were seen together by Lord Eddard Stark's son, Bran, whom Jaime pushed off a tower in an attempt to murder him. The attempt failed, and Bran was merely crippled by the fall. Meanwhile, Lord Eddard Stark himself, now the new hand of the King, discovers that Joffrey is not the son of Robert. Things are further complicated when Robert is killed by a boar in a hunting accident. Eddard backs Robert's brother Stannis as the true heir. Around the same time, Joffrey sends an assassin to kill Bran Stark, but the assassin is himself killed by Bran's pet direwolf, Summer. Joffrey gives the assassin a Valyrian steel dagger he stole from Tyrion Lannister, in order to frame Tyrion for the murder. Tyrion, who is still in the North having returned from the Wall, and is taken prisoner by Catelyn Stark, Eddard's wife, and sent for trial in the Vale of Arryn, home of Catelyn's sister. Eddard, meanwhile, attempts a coup against Joffrey, but is captured and imprisoned in the Red Keep. In spite of his hatred of Tyrion, Tywin considers this an insult to his family, and, in retaliation, sends an army under Gregor Clegane to attack the Riverlands, the birthplace of Catelyn Stark née Tully. Meanwhile, Tyrion wins a trial by combat, and Eddard's son Robb rebels against the crown, intending to win Northern independence and rescue his father from imprisonment. Tyrion is captured by the Hill Tribes shortly after winning his trial in the Vale, and recruits the hill tribes to fight against Robb Stark's army at the Battle of the Green Fork. Robb, however, proves to be surprisingly skilled tactician, and wins the battle of Green Fork. At the same time, Joffrey has Eddard Stark beheaded (in spite of the protest of both his mother and his fiancee and Eddard's daughter, Sansa), further infuriating Robb, who wins a series of victories, managing to seize control of much of the Riverlands and even invade the Westerlands itself, in spite of Tywin's best efforts. Tywin's campaign in the Riverlands, however, is interrupted by Stannis Baratheon's attack on King's Landing, which almost succeed in spite of the loss of most of Stannis' fleet from Tyrion's use of Wildfire. Stannis almost takes the city, but his forces are defeated by Tywin Lannister and his reinforcements. After his victory at King's Landing, Tywin initially orchestrates for Joffrey to be married not to Sansa Stark, but to the now more politically useful daughter of House Tyrell, Margaery. Sansa is instead betrothed to Tyrion, though neither party is happy with the arrangement. Tywin goes on to orchestrate Robb Stark's downfall by allying himself with the increasingly discontented Northern House of Frey and Bolton, who betray and assassinate Robb Stark, along with most of the loyal Northern bannermen at the wedding of Edmure Tully, which became known as "The Red Wedding". As their leaders are assassinated, the Northern army is attacked in their camps and wiped out by Frey and Bolton troops. After the Red Wedding, Tywin arranges for Eddard Stark's Valyrian steel greatsword, Ice, to be melted down and turned into two longswords, one of which is given the Jaime, and other to Joffrey as a present for his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. Shortly after receiving the sword, however, Joffrey dies after drinking poisoned wine. Tyrion is falsely accused of the crime, and, after a show trial presided over by his father, in which he arranges for Tyrion's former lover, a former whore named Shae frames him for the murder. Tyrion is enraged and demands a trial by combat. Tywin names Gregor Clegane as his champion, at which point Oberyn Martell, the Prince of Dorne and brother to Eila Martell, who was raped and murdered by Clegane during the sack of King's Landing, volunteers to be his champion. During the trial by combat, Oberyn wounds and downs Gregor with a poisoned spear, however, he refuses to kill him until he confesses to his crime. Gregor, however, manages to force Oberyn to the ground. Gregor confesses to his crime as he kills Oberyn with his bare hands, and immediately afterwards, succumbs to the poison. Tywin considers this to be a victory for Clegane, and sentences his son to death. Tyrion, however is freed by Jaime before the sentence can be carried out. Tyrion sneaks into the Tywin's quarters in the Red Keep, strangles Shae with her own necklace, before stealing a crossbow and bolts mounted on the wall, and confronting his father while he is on a garderobe (medieval toilet). Tyrion shoots his father twice with the crossbow, killing him. Tyrion then escapes King's Landing on a ship with the aid of Ser Varys, the Master of Whispers (essentially a chief of intelligence). Tallard Graham Tallard Graham is a supporting character in the Japanese fantasy light novel series The Lord Marksman and Vanadis, and a general in the in the army of Prince Germaine of Asvarre during the Asvarre Civil War, and later king of the country. Tallard is first introduced when Tigrevrmud Vorn is sent as an envoy of the king of Zchted in support of Germaine. During his time in the Asvarri city of Valverde, Germaine is assassinated on the orders of his rival, Prince Elliot. After Germaine's death, Tallard takes command of the late prince's army and enlisted the support of Tigrevrmud, as well as his travelling companions, including the travelling Vanadis, Olga Tamm and a former soldier and ship's captain named Matvey. Tallard also hired mercenaries from the nation of Sachstein, led by a man named Simon. Tigre was intitially reluctant to join the battle, but was convinced after Tallard told him of the capture by Elliot of Zchtedi Vanadis and close friend of Tigre's Sofia Obertas. Tallard divides his army, some of them crossing a narrow straight between Asvarre's continental territories and the main island which held the capital. Meanwhile, Tigrevrmud is sent to capture the coastal fortress of Fort Lux, whose commander, Leichester recently defected to Elliot's side. Thanks to Tigre's skilled command of the siege, he took the fortress in spite of being outnumbered by Leichester's soldiers. After taking the fortress, Tigrevrmud and Olga discovered that Leichester was actually a shape-shifting monster named Torbalan. Tigre and Olga only barely manage force Torbalan to flee using the combined magic power of Tigre's Black Bow and Olga's battle axe, as well as Olga's superhuman strength and speed as a Vanadis. After his capture of Fort Lux, Tigre was assaulted by an army of tens of thousands of men, mostly pirates and mercenaries, but also including a unit of 300 elite longbowmen, led by prince Elliot himself. Tigre weakened their Elliot's army in a series of daring night attacks, as well as (must to Tigre's reluctance) a scorched earth campaign, evacuating and burning villages and poisoning water supplies. It was then that Tallard sprung his trap. Unbeknownst to Elliot, he had not been heading for the Asvarri capital at all, but rather this was a feint- Tallard turned his ships around and landed back on the mainland, and attacked Elliot's forces with elite cavalry, crossbowmen, and even lured them into the fire zone of several mangonels loaded with multiple smaller stones. In spite of their sheer numbers, Elliot's pirates, who were mostly lightly armed with cutlasses and hatchets could not challenge Tallard's superior forces. Elliot's elite archer units fell apart when Tigre personally killed Hamish, the leader of the longbowmen. Elliot fled the battlefield back to a port, where he intended to sell the captured Vanadis Sofia Obertas to slave traders in the kingdom of Muozinel in exchange for their support in supplies and mercenaries he needed to rebuild his army. Tigre, however, used the power of his Black Bow to fire a magic arrow which struck with about the force of modern artillery shell, destroying the ships in harbor. Tallard then personally took Elliot into custody while Tigre rescued Sofia from her captors. After his victory in the Asvarre Civil War, Tallard married princess Guinevere, the last survivor of the Asvarre royal family, and declared himself king of Asvarre. At the same time, Tallard ordered Prince Elliot executed. In addition to his skill in military tactics, Tallard is a shrewd politician and charismatic leader, however, he is also more than willing to sacrifice the lives of his people for the good of his nation, or even for personal political gain. Tallard is also a skilled personal combatant, being an expert archer rivaling Tigre himself in skill, and also a competent swordsman. In spite of his fact that he possesses no magical abilities, and has no underlings with such power, Tallard's strategic genius, as well as his ruthlessness and ambition that drove Sofia to predict that he may become the greatest threat to Zchted in the future- and this is in a world where few people possess magic, but both a few superhuman magic users and mysterious "demons" do exist. In many ways, Tallard can be seen as a darker foil to Tigrevrmud Vorn- an expert archer and tactician, but a man who cares little for increasing power and territory, but considers the lives of his people to be of greatest importance. Tallard is also similar in some respects to Oliver Cromwell, as he deposed a tyrannical monarch, only to seize dictatorial power himself. =Weapons= Swords Westerossi Longsword (Tywin) The Westerossi Longsword is a, for all intents and purposes, identical to its real-life European counterpart. The weapon has double-edged blade with a length of about one meter. This design meant the weapon was designed for thrusting, but was still capable of cutting, making it very versatile blade. Asvarri Longsword (Tallard) Like in many fantasy stories, the world of The Lord Marksman and Vanadis uses a European-style longsword. The weapon has a blade of about a meter in length with a double-edged blade. It is essentially identical to both its real-life European and, indeed, Westerossi counterpart. 119's Edge The two weapons are essentially the same thing. Even Heavy Melee Battle Axe (Tywin) Westerossi armies are seen using various battle axes, among the more common being similar to European "horseman's axes"- one-handed axes which can be used both from horseback or on foot, and are capable of cleaving though armor with their blades, which were heavier than a sword, but lighter than a woodcutting axe to make them easier to fight with for extended periods of time. Some battle axes were double-bitted, and had a one to two foot handle. Morning Star Mace (Tallard) The "morning star" is a type of mace which consists of a metal head covered in spikes designed to focus the impact and possibly cause some piercing injuries. The head was mounted on a metal rod for a handle. Maces proved effective against armor, as the force of impact went through the armor and broke the bones under it. Maces were often aimed at the head, but could also break limbs or cause internal injury if struck elsewhere. 119's Edge The mace is an effective anti-armor weapon, however, it doesn't have the probability of an instant kill of the axe. Edge: Tywin Lannister Cavalry Lance (Both) A Lance is essentially a spear intended for use by cavalry. The Westerossi and Asvarri knights use a version essentially identical to that of the real-life European counterparts, with a relatively narrow triangular head for piercing armor, and a shaft up to about 10-20 feet long. Contrary to popular belief, the conical lances used by medieval knights were intended for tournament use- battlefield lances looked more like the elongated spears described above. Pike (Both) A pike is, quite simply, a long spear. The first major military use of pikes occurred under Phillip of Macedon, who used a variation of the ancient Greek phalanx formation using pikes or sarissa. This tactic was later used to great effect by Phillip's son Alexander the Great. The pike fell out of favor until the late Middle Ages, when it was found that pikes were effective, cheap anti-cavalry weapons when used in formation, which could easily be used by peasants with little training. As such, pikes were used extensively by the Scots, the Flemish, and the Swiss in the 1300s. During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period, pikes became staple of European armies. Pikemen were often deployed in formation with crossbowmen and early firearms such as the Hand Cannon and later the Matchlock Musket, in what was known as the "pike and shot" formation. Bows Asvarri Bow The Kingdom of Asvarre consists of both an island and a continental territory. While the island favors the powerful longbow, the continental region favors a smaller recurve bow which can be used on foot or horseback, with a range of up to about 300 meters. This is the preferred weapon of Tallard, and he is uncommonly skilled with the weapon, rivaling even master archer Tigrevrmud Vorn. Westerossi Longbow The Westerossi Longbow is essentially identical to its real-world British counterpart. The longbow was generally about five to six feet long, the length allowing for greater draw strength. The bow is described by a period source, Gaston III, count of Foix in 1380 as "of yew or boxwood, seventy inches m between the points of attachment for the cord". The bow was used in warfare in Britain from about 1280 to 1600. The weapon had a range of about 350 meters in the hands of a skilled archer. 119's Edge Tywin's Longbow for its longer effective range. Crossbows Westerossi Crossbow (Tywin) A Crossbow consists of a composite or metal bow mounted on a wooden stock, with a mechanical string holding and release mechanism. This design allows the crossbow to aimed more easily, allowing effective use with minimal training. This design also allows the bow to be held drawn and ready to fire for extended periods of time, and allows for the use of mechanical devices such as stirrups, levers, cranks, and windlasses to pulled back the string with greater force than with muscle power alone. The Westerossi crossbow used by the Lannisters was drawn with a lever known as a "goat's foot lever", which was faster than a windlass, but the lower draw weight means less stopping power. Arbalest (Tallard) The Arbalest is a European crossbow design first appearing in the 12th century. The weapon had a steel bow piece, or prod, allowing for greater strength, and thus, greater draw weights. This resulted in a powerful weapon capable of piercing plate armor, however, it took a long time to reload as a windlass or crank was often needed to pull back the string, which often had a draw weight of over 300 pounds. The weapon had a range of up to about 300 meters 119's Edge Tallard's Arbalest for its superior stopping power. Seige Equipment Trebuchet (Tywin) A Trebuchet is a massive siege engine which uses a sling attached to a wooden arm to launch a projectile at a range of a few hundred meters. The projectile is propelled by the force of a dropping counterweight on the end of the arm, typically a wooden box of rocks. The trebuchet is described in the Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones books as a commonly used weapon in Westeros. The weapons is stationary, and must be dismantled to be moved. Mangonel (Tallard) A Mangonel is a torsion catapult used during the Middle Ages, using a twisted skein of rope to fire a projectile up to about 300-400 meters. The weapon could fire a number of different types of ammunition, large rocks being the most common, though infected corpses and flaming projectiles were also known to be fired. Tallard used Mangonels mounted on wheels as "field artillery in his battles. 119's Edge The trebuchet has a longer range and is more powerful, however, the mangonel is more mobile. Edge: Even. Siege Engine Projectiles In addition to regular rocks and other common projectiles, the combatants will each have one "special" projectile type for their siege engines. Wildfire (Tywin) Wildfire is a highly flammable substance created by the guild of pyromancers in King's Landing, who produced the substance for the armies of Westeros, first under the Targaryens, and later under the Baratheon dynasties. Wildfire can be ignited with a flame, or even a sudden impact, and when confined in a container or the interior of a ship, is highly explosive, burning with a characteristic green flame. While it was Tywin's son, Tyrion Lannister who deployed Wildfire at the Battle of the Blackwater, as the richest man in Westeros and the de-facto ruler, Tywin would no doubt have access to the substance. Stone "Grapeshot" (Tallard) During his campaign, Tallard deploys a number of wheeled mangonels loaded with multiple stones, using them similarly to field artillery loaded with canister or grapeshot, as a heavy anti-personnel weapon. This barrage of stones have a devastating impact on Elliot's armies, cutting down many men along with massed arbalest fire, allowing the confused, often wounded survivors to be easily routed. 119's Edge Tallard effectively used his stone grapeshot in battle, but it is no match for the devastating firepower of Tywin's Wildfire. =X-Factors= Explanations While both of them would have had extensive military training, in terms of combat experience and tactics, Tallard takes the edge for his greater experience as a commander in the Asvarri Civil War, as well as his greater degree of battlefield success. While Tallard won a string of military victories using superior tactics, Tywin was repeatedly outmaneuvered and defeated by Robb Stark's northern army. In terms of raw physical strength, Tallard takes the advantage over the aging Tywin, however, Tywin takes both intelligence and political manipulation, potentially being able to turn Tywin's allies against him and lure him into an assassination at the hands of those he thought he trusted, as he did with both the Reynes, and later Robb Stark. In terms of swordsmanship, both are evenly match, receiving extensive training, however, Tallard is an uncommonly skilled archer, capable of hitting a target at up to about 300 meters. =Scenario= The scenario will be a large-scale war between Tywin and Tallard, with each side commanding large armies of the same size. To keep this interesting, there are two possible methods of victory detailed below. Possible Methods of Victory Military Victory The most direct way to win this scenario is to simply defeat their enemy in the field of battle. Both sides will start with a force of about 10,000 men, and may engage in multiple battles of a large area. Assassination The second alternative is the one Tywin truly accels in- to manipulate one of the enemy's allies into betraying them and assassinating the leader or to lead them into an ambush. Battle Faircastle, Fairisle, Westerlands, Westeros It had been a few weeks since Tallard Graham had sent his fleet to the shores of Fairisle, an island off the coast of Westeros. Right now, his army surrounded the small holdfast of Faircastle, the seat of House Farman, a banner house of the Lannisters. Initially, they had thought the invading Asvarri fleet were Ironborn, having come to raid the fishing villages on the coast of the isle. That was proven wrong when hundreds of ships carrying thousands of Asvarri soldiers and Sachsteinian mercenaries unloaded, quickly seized the port, and surrounded Faircastle with earthworks and siege engines. At their head was a blonde-haired man clad in polished plate armor, Tallard Graham, the recently crowned King of Asvarre, having seized power after the death of the last two heirs to the throne, the latter which was slain on his orders. Now, Tallard looked across the sea, to the continent of Westeros, to expand his empire. At this moment, Tallard observed the battlefield from beyond the earthworks, well beyond the range of the Westerossi archers, giving his a view of the small castle located on top of the island. The castle had a stone foundation, however, the upper part of the castle, like the pallisade that surrounded it, was constructed of timber. A dozen mangonels of Tallard's army loosed their payloads of large stones, one of the projectiles impacting a tower on the northwest corner of the castle. The stone smashed throguh the timber supports and sent the tower collapsing to the ground. At the same time, several other stones impacted, knocking away pieces of the walls. Finally, one impacted to the right of the gate, collapsing the structure and leaving an opening to the castle. At that moment, Tallard stood up and raised his sword, rallying his men to around him. Leading the from the front lines, the Asvarri general raised his and led his forces forward with sword his hand. The soldiers of the house Farman, having numbered no more than a few hundred at the best of times, had run low on arrows, food, and provisions. Not one arrow greeted the Asvarris as they advanced, but rather, a group of about a dozen men all carrying white flags of surrender. Asvarre had claimed the Fairisle, the first step in seizing the Westerlands, and with it, its vast gold reserves. Three months later, mountain pass on the River Road, west of Golden Tooth, Westerlands Tallard's forces had taken castles and cities on after another, seizing Feastfires, The Crag, and Ashemark, easily wresting control from the few soldiers that remained at the castles- most had been sent to fight in the Westerossi civil war against the Starks or the Baratheon. Tallard knew all to well how vulnerable a divided kingdom could be. Until not long ago, Asvarre was divided just as Westeros was now. To the south of Casterly Rock, a second force of Asvarri soldiers and Sachsteinian mercenaries landed, capturing the castle of Clegane's Keep, which presently had no members of its ruling house present, one being in the capital and the other having disappeared after the Battle of the Blackwater. Having taken the keep, Asvarri armies had blockaded the Sea Road and taken the mountain passes on the Gold Road and the River Road. The flanking maneuver had cut off Casterly Rock and Lannisport from both sides. Now Tallard himself stood with a company of archers laying in wait on the steep mountain slopes. Some of the archers carried continental shortbows like Tallard, while others favored the longbow of the island territories of Asvarre, or else carried Sachsteinian arbalests like his mercenaries. Tallard had intricately prepared this ambush, having placed his troops on the flanks of the mountains side to fire arrows and throw stones down on the Lannisters. He had even managed to place two mangonels, which had been dismantled and reassembled atop of a ledge, to fire down on the incoming Lannister forces. Up ahead, Tywin Lannister's elite cavalry, along with those of his bannermen, House Lefford of Golden Tooth. The plate armor of heavy cavalry and infantry shone in the sun below the golden lion banners of House Lannister and the blue and yellow shields of the Lefford banners. The force, led by Ser Gregor Clegane, was sent by Tywin Lannister to drive the invaders from the Westerlands. The Lannister forces, expecting to face the enemy in the coastal plains at the foot of the mountains, were expecting to face the enemy on the plains surrounding Casterly Rock. They had no idea of what lay ahead. At about 150 meters distance from the enemy, Tallard gave the order, "Loose!" Tallard himself fired the first arrow, which flew down the mountain slope, scoring a hit to the neck of a Lannister knight, going through a gap in the armor. The man fell from his horse, bleeding to death. The first arrow was followed by hundreds more arrows and crossbow bolts. While the Lannister's armor provided substantial protection, nonetheless, men were cut down by the powerful arbalest bolts and bodkin arrowheads raining from the sky. With a loud "thud" the mangonels discharged, each launching a payload of about 20-30 stones the size of a man's fist. The rocks rained down on the Lannister forces with enough force to dent helmets and crush the skull of the man beneath it. More stones fell on the Lannister forces, including a boulder rolled down the slope of the mountain, which crushed a dozen men before coming to a halt at the bottom of the narrow canyon which this stretch of the River Road ran through the bottom of. As more arrows and stones fell like rain, many of the less well armed and armored feudal levies turned an fled back to along the River Road, in spite of the attempts by the Lannister commanders to keep their forces together. One man who stayed standing was Ser Gregor Clegane. The giant of a man had fallen from his horse after it was killed by a stray arrow, but Ser Gregor himself was not one to flee from a battle, no matter how outmatched he was. Instead, Ser Gregor stood defiantly with a group of other Lannister knights even as the formation fell apart, arrows and stones falling all around them. As suddenly as they barrage started, however, it started, replaced by the shouts of charging men. Tallard's heavy infantry had joined the battle, charging up from the opposite end of the pass, into the valley floor. The front ranks made contact with the few remaining Lannisters that remained. Ser Gregor's blade cut down first one, then two Asvarri soldiers, effortlessly cleaving through their armor. Emboldened by his initial success, the Lannisters advanced into the fray behind the Mountain. But it was not enough to turn the tide of the Asvarri onslaught. Spears pierced the side of the Mountain from several different directions and, while he took several of his foe with him, even the great Gregor Clegane eventually fell from his wounds. The Asvarri army advanced over the survivors, losing only a few more of their own, before the few Lannisters that remained has either fled or were laying dead or dying in the narrow mountain pass. Two weeks later, Clegane's Keep, the Westerlands, Westeros Simon, the Sachsteinian mercenary in the employ of Tallard sat in the Great Hall of Clegane's Keep, eating breakfast at the moment. It was at that moment that a soldier entered the hall, and walked up to him, a letter clutched in his hand. "Sir, a raven arrived at the keep over night", The mercenary said. "A raven?", Simon asked, "That's how the people here send messages, correct?" "Yes, Sir, it came with a message with the seal of the besieged House, the Lannisters". Simon was confused. Why would the Lannisters be sending him a messages to him? Surely if they wished to surrender, they would negotiate with Tallard. Nonetheless, the mercenary took the rolled up paper and opened it. Inside, he found a message that changed his whole outlook on this war... In a week's time, he would meet with Tallard at the captured city of Ashemark to discuss, the next state of operations, directly laying siege to Lannisport and Casterly Rock. That night, Simon of Sachstein sent messengers to his most loyal commanders, with secret orders to be opened in one week, on the night of the meeting with Tallard. One week later, Ashemark, Westeros Tallard Graham sat at the head of a table in the great hall of the castle of Ashemark, a city captured from the Westerossi, which he had converted into his forward base. To his right were several ranking Asvarri commanders, while the leaders of the Sachsteinian mercenaries sat on the left of the table. Several guards stood at the entrances of the hall, as more patrolled a balcony above the hall. "Now that we are all present, let us begin the discussion", Tallard said, "We have the Casterly Rock and Lannisport surrounded on all sides, and the three main roads of the region blocked off. Now, it is time to tighten the noose." "The blockade forces, commanded by under Wilhelm of the mercenary unit, Order of the Golden Lance, Lord Blackhill, and Sir Yorkton respectively, will remain in place as field fortifications are constructed.", Tallard continued, placing wooden figures representing formations of troops on a the map, "Meanwhile, my forces will join the army under Lord Westscott and Monford, as well as Simon of the Order of the Golden Lance will advance to within 500 alsin (unit of measure in the Vanadis universe, 1 alsin= ~1 meter) of the walls of Lannisport and Casterly Rock. There, they will set up siege lines. The fleet will remain position blockading the harbor of Lannisport. From there, we hold position until such time as they have no choice but to surrender." As Tallard finished his explanation, Simon raised his mug of ale and said, "Let me propose a toast to King Tallard and to our victory". "TO TALLARD AND VICTORY!" all of the men in the room exclaimed as they slammed their ale mugs together. As soon as the mugs were returned to the table, a loud series clacking sounds rang out, followed by screams of pain. The guards on the balcony had loosed their crossbows, propelling bolts down into the ranking nobles of Asvarre. Of their number, half had died instantly, pierced by bolts to the head. Most of the rest of them were wounded, many of them mortally, by bolts to the chest or leg. The Sachsteinian mercenaries guarding the door lowered their spears and advanced to the downed Asvarri lords, thrusting their weapons into the bodies of their wounded commanders of Tallard's army. Tallard himself, however, had been wearing his polished breastplate, and has survived the crossbow bolts. The Asvarri king drew his sword and stood to face Simon, as he shouted, "WHAT TREACHERY IS THIS!?" "Nothing personal", Simon said, "This is simply business". The Asvarri mercenary advanced with his mace, the close quarters rendering his two-handed sword ineffective at this range. Tallard parried the first swing and retaliated with a thrust. Simon jumped the the side and swung his mace again, aiming for the Asvarri king's head, only for the head of his mace to meet the blade of Tallard's sword. From this bind, Tallard attempted to run his blade down the handle of Simon's mace and cut his hand. Simon angled his mace head downward while stepping to the side, moving his hand away from the blade. As Tallards sword slid downwards and struck the the stone floor of the castle, Simon swung his mace downward, the spiked head impacting Tallard's arm, breaking his radius and causing him to drop the sword. Simon then swung his mace horizontally, right into the king's exposed head. The spiked head of the mace caved in Tallard Graham's skull, killing him instantly. After striking him a second time to make sure he was dead, and ascertaining that the other Asvarri generals were as well, Simon exited the castle gate, to see smoke and flames coming from the Asvarri camp beyond the wall, accompanied by the sounds of hoofbeats, shouting, and blades striking flesh. The next morning, practically the entire army of Tallard Graham lay dead. Less than a 1000, survivors, mostly of the blockading garrisons fled on the few ships that escaped being burned back to Asvarre, which, with the death of the king, would soon be in turmoil yet again. Outside the walls of Ashemark, two weeks later Simon of Sachstein approached the force of soldiers bearing the lion banner outside the gates, flanked his mercenaries. At the head of the Lannister army rode lord Tywin himself, behind him rolled several large wagons. "You are the have the head of Tallard Graham?", Tywin asked as he rode up to Simon. "Right here, my lord", Simon said, passing him a sack which contained the severed head of his former commander, "I take it the gold is in these wagons?" "Five hundred Gold Dragons for you, and 20 for each man", Tywin said, "As promised". "It is a pleasure doing business with you, Lord Tywin", Simon said, as he opened a chest in the lead cart, revealing the gold coins within. WINNER: Tywin Lannister Expert's Opinion While Tallard was more successful in the open battlefield, much like Robb Stark, his military prowess could not save him from Tywin's natural talent for manipulation and his vast wealth. The experts noted that these characteristics would make it very easy for Tywin to turn Tallard's own allies against him, made all the more easier given Tallard's extensive use of mercenaries. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Category:Blog posts